The world is undergoing significant growth in the percentage of its population aged 65 and older. For example, according to 2017 statistics published by the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. “[r]esidents age 65 and over grew from 35.0 million in 2000, to 49.2 million in 2016, accounting for 12.4 percent and 15.2 percent of the total population, respectively.” U.S. Census Bureau, The Nation's Older Population Is Still Growing, Census Bureau Reports (Jun. 22, 2017), https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2017/cb17-100.html. A report published in March 2016 indicated that “the next 10 years will witness an increase of about 236 million people aged 65 and older throughout the world. Thereafter, from 2025 to 2050, the older population is projected to almost double to 1.6 billion globally, whereas the total population will grow by just 34 percent over the same period.” He, Wan, Goodkind, Daniel, and Kowal, Paul: An Aging World: 2015: International Population Reports, U.S. Census Bureau and National Institutes of Health, at p. 1 (March 2016), https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2016/demo/p95-16-1.pdf.
According to a publication titled “2016 Health Innovation Frontiers,” published by the American Association of Retired Persons (“AARP”), consumers aged 50 and older “[a]re managing moderate health problems with a light medication schedule,” or “[a]re managing severe chronic conditions with a complex medication schedule.” AARP, 2016 Health Innovation Frontiers, at p. 9 (2016), https://www.aarp.org/content/dam/aarp/home-and-family/personal-technology/2016/05/2016-Health-Innovation-Frontiers-Infographics-AARP.pdf. That publication mentions that traditional approaches include “[d]aily/weekly pillboxes, Post-It® reminders, and other fixes,” as well as “medication therapy management.” Id. That publication lists drawbacks with such approaches, namely that they are inconvenient, ineffective, “[n]o records for verification,” “[h]igh reliance on call centers,” and [h]igh costs with minimal benefits.” Id.